Wind for Schools Project Enters 2013 with 124 Turbine Installations

March 29, 2013

This past winter, NREL hosted the Sixth Annual Wind for Schools Summit. Forty-six attendees representing the 11 official Wind for Schools states and various stakeholders met to discuss ways to further improve the Wind for Schools network in the established states and to increase the overall impact of the program. NREL manages this program for the U.S. Department of Energy.

Wind for Schools project states had a productive year in 2012. The Wind Applications Centers helped to install 30 small wind turbines at schools across the country, resulting in a total of 124 installations in the project's fifth year. Nebraska, one of the original six Wind for Schools states, installed seven turbines, increasing the state's total to 25 public school installations since 2008. According to Associate Director Joel Jacobs of the Nebraska Wind Applications Center, the Nebraska Wind for Schools project has had an estimated impact on 8% of the state's public school students since its implementation in fiscal year (FY) 08.

Arizona also had multiple installations in 2012, with eight turbines installed at four schools, bringing the state's total installations to 13 in a 2-year period. Colorado's Wind for Schools project accessed Supplemental Environmental Project funding that ensured an additional four installations in the state.

Established in 2005 to raise awareness in rural America about the benefits of wind energy while simultaneously developing a wind energy workforce and knowledge base in future leaders of our communities, states, and nation, the Wind for Schools project is currently supported in 11 states (Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, North Carolina, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, and Virginia).